Share:


Setting the “right” goal: post M&A innovation performance and goal orientation

Abstract

Pharmaceutical firms spend billions of dollars to develop the next breakthrough drug and to maintain their market shares. We investigate how pharmaceutical firms use mergers and acquisitions to boost their innovation performance which has been found to result in better performance outcomes. Adding to the recent research on mergers and acquisitions, we found that firms that are explicit with their R&D goal orientation from the beginning of the acquisition journey are more successful in their innovation endeavours than firms with other goal orientation. Further, the firms’ prior acquisition experience appears to aid their innovation performance. However, we found that target size can affect the post-acquisition innovation performance but has diminishing returns as target size increases. Ultimately, our findings suggest that having an explicit R&D goal orientation is really important for a healthy innovation pipeline for pharmaceutical firms.

Keyword : mergers and acquisitions, innovation, R&D, goal orientation, acquisition experience, organizational learning, pharmaceutical industry

How to Cite
Doan, T. T. (2020). Setting the “right” goal: post M&A innovation performance and goal orientation. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(2), 555-565. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2020.12083
Published in Issue
Sep 8, 2020
Abstract Views
992
PDF Downloads
780
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Agarwal, R., & Helfat, C. E. (2009). Strategic renewal of organizations. Organization Science, 20(2), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0423

Ahuja, G., & Katila, R. (2001). Technological acquisitions and the innovation performance of acquiring firms: a longitudinal study. Strategic Management Journal, 22(3), 197–220. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.157

Alexander, L., & Knippenberg, D. V. (2014). Teams in pursuit of radical innovation: A goal orientation perspective. Academy of Management Review, 39(4), 423–438. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2012.0044

Baum, J. A. C., Li, X. S., & Usher, J. M. (2000). Making the next move: How experiential and vicarious learning shape the location of chains’ acquisitions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45(4), 766–801. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667019

Birkinshaw, J., Bresman, H, & Hakanson, L. (2000). Managing the post-acquisition integration process: How the human integration and task integration processes interact to foster value creation. Journal of Management Studies, 37(3), 395–425. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00186

Bobko, P., & Colella, A. (1994). Employee reactions to performance standards: A review and research propositions. Personnel Psychology, 47, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1994.tb02407.x

Button, S. B., Mathieu, J. E., & Zajac, D. M. (1996). Goal orientation in organizational research: A conceptual and empirical foundation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 67(1), 26–48. https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.1996.0063

Bower, J. L. (2001). Not M&As are alike: And that matters. In Mergers & acquisitions: A critical reader. Routledge.

Capron, L., & Pistre, N. (2002). When do acquirers earn abnormal returns? Strategic Management Journal, 23(9), 781–794. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.262

Cassiman, B., Colombo, M. G., Garrone, P., & Veugelers, R. (2005). The impact of M&A on the R&D process: An empirical analysis of the role of technological- and market-relatedness. Research Policy, 34(2), 195–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2005.01.002

Chakrabarti, A., & Mitchell, W. (2013). The persistent effect of geographic distance in acquisition target selection. Organization Science, 24(6), 1805–1826. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0811

Chaudhuri, S., & Tabrizi, B. (1999). Capturing the real value in high-tech acquisitions. Havard Business Review, 77(5), 123–130, 185. https://hbr.org/1999/09/capturing-the-real-value-in-high-tech-acquisitions

Cohen, F. J. (2005). Macro trends in pharmaceutical innovation. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 4, 78–84. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1610

Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128–152. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393553

Cloodt, M., Hagedoorn, J., & Kranenburg, H. V. (2006). Mergers and acquisitions: their effect on the innovative performance of companies in high-tech industries. Research Policy, 35(5), 642–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2006.02.007

Comanor, W. S., & Scherer, F. M. (2013). Mergers and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of Health Economics, 32(1), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2012.09.006

Desyllas, P., & Hughes, A. (2010). Do high technology acquirers become more innovative? Research Policy, 39(8), 1105–1121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.05.005

Diener, C. I., & Dweck, C. S. (1978). An analysis of learned helplessness: Continuous changes in performance, strategy, and achievement cognitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 451–462. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.36.5.451

Dikova, D., & Rao Sahib, P. (2013). Is cultural distance a bane or a boon for cross-border acquisition performance? Journal of World Business, 48(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.06.009

Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1040–1048. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1040

Eisenhardt, K. M., & Martin, J. A. (2000). Dynamic capabilities: What are they? Strategic Management Journal, 21(10/11), 1105–1121. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200010/11)21:10/11<1105::AID-SMJ133>3.0.CO;2-E

Farr, J. L., Hofmann, D. A., & Ringenbach, K. L. (1993). Goal orientation and action control theory: Implications for industrial and organizational psychology. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8, 193–232.

Fernald, K. D. S., Pennings, H. P. G., van den Bosch, J. F., Commandeur, H. R., & Classen, E. (2017). The moderating role of absorptive capacity and the differential effects of acquisitions and alliances on Big Pharma firms’ innovation performance. PloS ONE, 12(2), e0172488. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172488

Graebner, M. E. (2004). Momentum and serendipity: How acquired leaders create value in the integration of technology firms. Strategic Management Journal, 25(8/9), 751–777. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.419

Grabowski, H. G., & Kyle, M. (2012). Mergers, acquisitions, and alliances. In P. M. Danzon & S. Nicholson (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the economics of the biopharmaceutical industry. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199742998.013.0018

Graebner, M. E., Eisenhardt, K. M., & Roundy, P. T. (2010). Success and failure in technology acquisitions: Lessons for buyers and sellers. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(3), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.24.3.73

Grimpe, C. (2007). Successful product development after firm acquisitions: The role of research and development. The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 24(6), 614–628. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2007.00275.x

Hagedoorn, J., & Cloodt, M. (2003). Measuring innovative performance: Is there an advantage in using multiple indicators? Research Policy, 32(8), 1365–1379. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00137-3

Hagedoorn, J., & Sadowski, B. (1999). The transition from strategic technology alliances to mergers and acquisitions: An exploratory study. Journal of Management Studies, 36(1), 87–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00127

Hakanson, L. (1995). Learning through acquisitions: Management and integration of foreign R&D laboratories. International Studies of Management and Organization, 25(1–2), 121–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.1995.11656654

Hall, B. H. (2007). Patents and patent policy. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 23(4), 568–587. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grm037

Hamel, G. (2000). Waking up IBM: how a gang of unlikely rebels transformed Big Blue. Harvard Business Review, 78(4), 137–146. https://hbr.org/2000/07/waking-up-ibm-how-a-gang-of-unlikely-rebels-transformed-big-blue

Han, J., Jo, G. S., & Kang, J. (2018). Is high-quality knowledge always beneficial? Knowledge overlap and innovation performance in technological mergers and acquisitions. Journal of Management & Organization, 24(2), 258–278. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.35

Haspeslagh, P. C., & Jemison, D. B. (1991). Managing acquisitions. The Free Press.

Hayward, M. L. A. (2002). When do firms learn from their acquisition experience? Evidence from 1990 to 1995. Strategic Management Journal, 23(1), 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.207

Higgins, M. J., & Rodriguez, D. (2006). The outsourcing of R&D through acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of Financial Economics, 80(2), 351–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2005.04.004

Hitt, M. A., Harrison, J. S., & Ireland, R. D. (2001). Mergers & acquisitions: A guide to creating value for stakeholders. Oxford University Press.

Hitt, M. A., Hoskisson, R. E., Johnson, R. A., & Moesel, D. D. (1996). The market for corporate control and firm innovation. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1084 –1119. https://doi.org/10.5465/256993

Jeon, J., Hong, S., Ohm, J., & Yang, T. (2015). Causal relationships among technology acquisition, absorptive capacity, and innovation performance: evidence from the pharmaceutical industry. Plos One, 10(7), e0131642. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131642

Jo, G. S., Park, G., & Kang, J. (2016). Unravelling the link between technological M&A and innovation performance using the concept of relative absorptive capacity. Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 24(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/19761597.2015.1128340

Kaul, A., & Wu, B. (2015). A capabilities-based perspective on target selection in acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 37(7), 1220–1239. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2389

Khanna, I. (2012). Drug discovery in pharmaceutical industry: Productivity challenges and trends. Drug Discovery Today, 17(19–20), 1088–1102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2012.05.007

Kim, J. Y., & Finkelstein, S. (2009). The effects of strategic and market complementarity on acquisition performance: Evidence from the US commercial banking industry, 1989–2001. Strategic Management Journal, 30(6), 617–0646. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.754

Laamanen, T., & Keil, T. (2008). Performance of serial acquirers: toward an acquisition program perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 29(6), 633–672. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.670

Lange, S., & Wagner, M. (2019). The influence of exploratory versus exploitative acquisitions on innovation output in the biotechnology industry. Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00194-1

Larsson, R., & Finkelstein, S. (1999). Integrating strategic, organizational, and human resource perspectives on mergers and acquisitions: A case survey of synergy realization. Organization Science, 10(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.10.1.1

Lee, Y. J., Shin, K., & Kim, E. (2019). The influence of a firm’s capability and dyadic relationship of the knowledge base on ambidextrous innovation in biopharmaceutical M&As. Sustanability, 11(18), 4920. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11184920

Makri, M., Hitt, M. A., & Lane, P. J. (2010). Complementary technologies, knowledge relatedness and invention outcomes in high technology mergers and acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 31(6), 602–628. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.829

Malik, N. N. (2009). Biotech acquisitions by big pharma: why and what is next. Drug Discovery Today, 14(17–18), 818–821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2009.06.012

Ocasio, W. (1997). Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18, 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199707)18:1+ <187::AID-SMJ936>3.3.CO;2-B

Ornaghi, C. (2009). Mergers and innovation in big pharma. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 27(1), 70–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2008.04.003

Pammolli, F., Magazzini, L., & Riccaboni, M. (2011). The productivity crisis in pharmaceutical R&D. Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery, 10(6), 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd3405

Paruchuri, S., Nerkar, A., & Hambrick, D. C. (2006). Acquisition integration and productivity losses in the technical core: Disruption of inventors in acquired companies. Organization Science, 17(5), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1060.0207

Paul, S. M., Mytelka, D. S., Dunwiddie, C. T., Persinger, C. C., Munos, B. H., Lindborg, S. R., & Schacht, A. L. (2010). How to improve R&D productivity: the pharmaceutical industry’s grand challenge. Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery, 9(3), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd3078

Penner-Hahn, J., & Shaver, J. M. (2005). Does international research and development increase patent output? An analysis of Japanese pharmaceutical firms. Strategic Management Journal, 26(2), 121–140. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.436

Prabhu, J. C., Chandy, R. K., & Ellis, M. E. (2005). The impact of acquisitions on innovation: Poison pill, Placebo, or Tonic? Journal of Marketing, 69, 114–130. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.69.1.114.55514

Prahalad, C. K., & Bettis, R. A. (1986). The dominant logic: a new linkage between diversity and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 7(6), 485–501. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250070602

Puranam, P., Powell, B. C., & Singh, H. (2006). Due diligence failure as a signal detection problem. Strategic Organization, 4(4), 319–348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127006069426

Puranam, P., & Srikanth, K. (2007). What they know vs. what they do: How acquirers leverage technology acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 28(8), 805–825. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.608

Ranft, A. L., & Lord, M. D. (2000). Acquiring new knowledge: The role of retaining human capital in acquisitions of high-tech firms. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 11(2), 295–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1047-8310(00)00034-1

Ravenscraft, D. J., & Scherer, F. M. (1987). Life after takeover. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 36(2), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.2307/2098409

Ringel, M. S., & Choy, M. K. (2017). Do large mergers increase or decrease the productivity of pharmaceutical R&D? Drug Discovery Today, 22(12), 1749–1753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2017.06.002

Ruckman, K. (2009). Technology sourcing acquisitions: What they mean for innovation potential. Journal of Strategy and Management, 2(1), 56–75. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554250910948703

Santos, F., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2009). Constructing markets and shaping boundaries: Entrepreneurial power in nascent fields. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 643–671. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.43669892

Schildt, H. A., & Laamanen, T. (2006). Who buys whom: Information environments and organizational boundary spanning through acquisitions. Strategic Organization, 4(2), 111–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127006064065

Schweizer, L. (2005). Knowledge transfer and R&D in pharmaceutical companies: A case study. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 22(4), 315–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2005.09.004

Shelton, L. M. (1988). Strategic business fits and corporate acquisition: Empirical evidence. Strategic Management Journal, 9(3), 279–287. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250090307

Shibayama, S., Tanikawa, K., Fujimoto, R., & Kimura, H. (2008). Effect of mergers and acquisitions on drug discovery: perspective from a case study of a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Drug Discovery Today, 13(1–2), 86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2007.10.015

Shrivastava, P. (1986). Post-merger integration. Journal of Business Strategy, 7(1), 65–76. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb039143

Song, C. H., & Leker, J. (2018). Differentiation of innovation strategies based on pharmaceutical licensing agreements: Insight from Korean pharmaceutical firms. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 31(2), 169–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2018.1490711

Trautwein, F. (1990). Merger motives and merger prescriptions. Strategic Management Journal, 11(4), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250110404

Vaara, E., Sarala, R., Stahl, G. K., & Björkman, I. (2012). The impact of organizational and national cultural differences on social conflict and knowledge transfer in international acquisitions. Journal of Management Studies, 49(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00975.x

VandeWalle, D., Cron, W. L., & Slocum, J. W. Jr. (2001). The role of goal orientation following performance feedback. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 629–640. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.4.629

Yu, J., Engleman, R. M., & Van de Ven, A. H. (2005). The integration journey: An attention-based view of the merger and acquisition integration process. Organization Studies, 26(10), 1501–1528. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840605057071

Zhao, X., Lin, D., & Hao, T. (2019). A new discussion on the relationship between M&A and innovation in an emerging market: the moderating effect of post-acquisitions R&D investment. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 31(12), 1447–1461. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2019.1627310